


For All The World To See

by TheSacredFandomTexts



Series: Peter and Tony Platonic Soulmate Series [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Platonic Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-12
Updated: 2018-12-12
Packaged: 2019-09-17 03:50:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16967121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSacredFandomTexts/pseuds/TheSacredFandomTexts
Summary: Peter is adjusting to being in the media spotlight. With the kids at school constantly debating whether Peter is Tony’s illegitimate son or a con man hell-bent on stealing the Stark fortune, the only reprieve he gets, once again, is as Spider-Man.But when someone from Tony’s past decides this is the perfect opportunity for revenge, Spider-Man might not be a secret for much longer.Sequel to Window To The Soul, I highly recommend reading that one first.





	1. Chapter 1

       “Tony,” Peter said, just shy of whining. “They’re all gonna see us pull up and there will be cameras and everyone will be talking and-”

       “Peter,” Tony said, getting behind the wheel of his Audi. “I am not letting you go to school by yourself when there is almost definitely going to be paparazzi already swarming the place. With me there, they’ll ambush me and you can get into the school mostly unnoticed.” He paused. “Probably.”

       Peter slumped down in the passenger’s seat and folded his arms. “Can’t I just change schools?”

       “They’ll find you wherever you go, Pete. Trust me on that one,” Tony started the car and pulled out of the garage. “Besides, wouldn’t you miss your friends?”

       “Ned, yeah,” Peter admitted. “MJ, probably. I could do without the rest of them, though. Especially Flash,” he added as an afterthought.

       “Flash,” Tony mused. “That’s the asshole kid, right?”

       Peter shrugged. “He’s mostly harmless. More like an annoying fly than anything else.”

       Tony paused as they hit a red light. “Okay, I’ll tell you what,” he said, turning to face him. “Call me if it’s too much to handle and I’ll come get you.”

       “Tony…” Peter said, unsure.

       “I’m serious,” Tony said sternly as the light turned green and he took off probably faster than was strictly necessary. “Kids suck. I cut class way more than I should have and I don’t want you to do the same. Just call me, I’ll call May, and we’ll leave these fuckers in the dust. Just, you know, not as often as I did.”

       Peter smiled and then sighed. “Okay, fine,” he said softly.

       It’d taken Tony and May three days to finally convince Peter to go back to school. After Tony made the accidental drunken announcement that Peter was to become the sole owner of Stark Industries, Peter had originally said it was fine. But after the first twenty-four hours of calls, texts, tweets, and any other form of direct messaging, Peter decided he wanted to become a recluse. This of course sparked at least two hundred recluse spider jokes until Tony decided to get serious and force the kid to get his bag and get in the car.

       They’d heard from Ned that the paparazzi had been at the school every day so far, so they knew they’d be there when they showed up that morning. It didn’t exactly prepare Peter for the sheer amount of flashing lights and noise that met them when they rounded the corner, though.

       Peter flinched as the cameras flashed and Tony wordlessly handed him a pair of sunglasses that were probably worth more than Peter’s entire wardrobe.

       “What are these for?” Peter asked.

       Tony looked over at him. “You think I wear these all the time just to be fashionable? I’d like to not lose my eyesight every time I leave the house.” He parked the car and smiled. “Don’t worry. You don’t have to say anything.”

       Peter took a deep breath and looked out the window at the swarm awaiting him. God, how he wished he could be in the hospital fighting alien poison instead.

       “Now or never, champ,” Tony said.

       “Is never actually an option?” Peter asked, looking at him with pleading eyes.

       And damn the kid for being a puppy in a kid’s body. But Tony held his resolve and clapped Peter on the back. “It won’t be that bad,” he said, opening his door and letting the noise flood into the car. “At least they don’t have pictures of  _ you _ streaking in the dead of winter.”

       Peter was definitely going to have to look those pictures up later. But for now, it was all about getting through the day without incident.

       With another deep breath, Peter shoved the sunglasses on his face and stepped out of the car.

       In the movies, celebrities stepped out of their car in slow motion while adoring fans screamed and took pictures and everyone was smiling.

       This was not even remotely the same thing.

       The wall of sound hit Peter like a brick and he felt his senses, which were already dialed up to eleven, reach levels he didn’t even know were possible. The sunglasses did little to help with the flashes and he felt like he was being surrounded. Stepping back in alarm, he gripped his bag until his knuckles were white, and just as he was thinking of outing himself as Spider-Man in front of everyone so he could swing away and find some peace, he felt Tony’s gentle hand on his shoulder.

       The feeling of calm was almost instantaneous. He could do this. With Tony by his side, Peter could do anything.

       “Mr. Stark!” One of the reporters yelled as they walked closer to the school. “Is it true Peter is your illegitimate son?”

       Tony took a second to look Peter over and then looked back at the reporter. “We do kinda look the same, don’t we Pete?”

       Peter just looked at him, not sure if he should answer the question. But Tony had told him he didn’t have to say anything, and he was going to hold him to that, if only because he had a feeling he’d throw up in front of everyone if he opened his mouth.

       The questions continued, most of them harmless, as the reporters tried to get something for their articles before Peter was safe in the school. It seemed like they were going to make it through without a disaster happening. Which, of course, was why something had to happen at the last second.

       “Mr. Stark!” One of the reporters pushed his way to the front. “Is it true you’re being blackmailed?”

       Tony gave him a look before continuing on. “No,” was all he said.

       “Well, it’s just that we have sources saying that Peter here is trying to weasel you out of your money.”

       Tony stopped in his tracks and Peter stopped with him, looking from the reporter to Tony with wide eyes.

       “Does this kid look like he could blackmail anyone?” Tony asked, his tone dangerous.

       “Tony,” Peter said softly, his spidey sense going haywire.

       “You tell me,” the reporter continued. “I did some digging. What makes you think an orphan with no money living with a single guardian wouldn’t jump at the chance to lie about his parentage so he could get one of the wealthiest men in America to give him whatever he wants?”

       Even Peter was taken aback by the harsh words and could only stare at the guy speechless.

       Tony chuckled humorlessly before gripping the front of the reporter’s shirt and pulling him close. “If I were you,” he said, his voice low and dangerous. “I’d stop talking before I said something I’d regret.”

       The reporter wasn’t intimidated. “It wouldn’t surprise me to find out a no-good kid living on the streets of New York would have someone like you wrapped around his finger. How much money have you given him alrea-”

       He was never able to finish as Tony landed a very well-aimed punch to the center of the guy’s face, sending him sprawling to the ground. Cameras started flashing faster than before and several people stared in shock, including pretty much all of Peter’s classmates and teachers.

       Tony was breathing heavily, glaring at the guy and not even looking shocked when he turned and everyone saw blood from a broken nose all down his front.

       “Now,” Tony said loudly to all the reporters, but never taking his eyes off his target. “Peter has to go to class. When that bell rings at the end of the day, I will be here to pick him up. If I see a single one of you here at that time, a broken nose will be the least of your worries.” He turned on his heel and gripped Peter’s arm, steering him into the school without another word.

       They’d barely made it through the doors when Peter stopped in his tracks, unfairly using his super strength to make Tony turn to look at him.

       “Are you okay?” Peter asked, not caring that there were students and teachers staring at them.

       “Am _ I _ okay?” Tony stared at him. “What about you? The things he said, they didn’t bother you?”

       “What, that I’m a poor orphan living with my single aunt?” Peter asked. “Tony, those things are just facts. I mean, I don’t live on the streets and he didn’t exactly have to be so harsh about it, but I’ve had worse things hurled at me during lunch on a typical Tuesday.”

       Tony gave him a look like he was about to go find Flash and kill him.

       “Tony,” Peter said softly. “It’s fine.”

       “It’s not fine,” Tony said immediately. “They don’t have the right to treat you like that.”

       Peter sighed. “Isn’t this part of the deal?” He asked. “Honestly, Tony, if the worst they have on me is that my parents are dead, then I think I’ll be okay.”

       Tony looked down as the phone in his pocket began to buzz. He fished it out and heaved a sigh. “Pepper,” he said.

       “I’m guessing the story is already out?” Peter said.

       “They work fast these days,” Tony muttered. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

       Peter nodded. “Go ahead and take care of it. I have to go to class soon anyway.”

       Tony reached up and squeezed Peter’s shoulder before answering his phone on his way out, the sounds of people shouting and cameras shuttering filling the hallway before the door shut.

       Peter watched him go and instantly felt a strange emptiness. He’d been away from Tony before, literally in different countries, but it felt different this time. Not just because they knew they were soulmates now, but because Peter was going to have to face the day alone and he hadn’t exactly thought about how hard that was going to be.

       “Peter?”

       Peter looked to the side and saw Ned. “Hey,” he said with a small smile. “I guess you saw?”

       Ned nodded as he led the way to their first class, completely oblivious to the whispers following them down the hall. “You okay?”

       Peter took a breath. He’d reassured Tony he was fine, but he wasn’t completely convinced himself. Too many feelings were swirling around inside him, he wasn’t sure if ‘okay’ was one of them. “Let’s just get to class,” he said quietly, doing his best to ignore the stares and whispers.

       But as the day dragged on, Peter realized that he was far from okay. The hushed conversations that would stop abruptly as he passed by were starting to grate on him, especially since his super hearing picked up on them on the other side of the hall long before they saw him coming. Every class he’d had that morning consisted of sideways glances and sometimes glares.

       The explanation for the glares didn’t become apparent until about lunchtime when Flash finally decided to confront him.

       “Penis Parker, ladies and gentlemen!” Flash said as Peter stepped into the cafeteria. “The most successful con man in the entire sophomore class!”

       Peter might have snapped back, but he felt like he’d had a rain cloud over his head the whole day and couldn’t even think of something to say.

       Luckily, Ned had his back. “He’s not a con man, Flash,” he said angrily. “What kind of kid can con a man like Tony Stark?”

       “You tell me,” Flash said, stepping over to them. “Was the reporter right, Penis?” He asked, a deep-seated hatred in his eyes that suggested this was a long time coming. “Did you knock on Iron Man’s door with a sob story and a fake DNA test and get him to give you a car and a new pair of designer sunglasses and pretend to care about you in public?”

       Peter had never cried at school, but he felt the burning behind his eyes as the venom in Flash’s voice cut deep.

       “That’s enough, Flash,” Ned said, glaring at him.

       “Why don’t you tell us all the truth, Parker?” Flash said, a smirk on his face as he saw the build up of tears in Peter’s eyes. “No one cares about you, so you had to lie to be in the spotlight.”

       Peter swallowed as he tried to keep it together, staring at Flash and wondering why he hated him so much. Without a word, Peter turned on his heel and fled.

       “Aw, come on, Penis!” Flash yelled after him. “You don’t have to make it so obvious!”

       “You’re an asshole, Flash,” Ned spat before running after Peter.

       Peter ran, trying to find anywhere without people. But they were everywhere. Kids eating their lunch in the hallways, kids watching him from classrooms, he had nowhere to go.

       “Peter!” Ned yelled, finally finding him stopped in a mostly deserted hallway. “Peter, hey,” he said, stopping in front of him and holding a hand out like he was a spooked horse. “Calm down.”

       It was then that Peter realized he was hyperventilating, tears streaming down his face. He put his head in his hands and backed up toward a wall of lockers, sliding down them until his knees were right up against his chest.

       Ned knelt down in front of him and put a hand on his shoulder. “Peter?” He said, trying to get his best friend to look at him. “What can I do?”

       Peter took a few seconds to breathe before finally looking up at Ned, upset that he let anyone see him like this. “I… I need…” he couldn’t work around the tightness in his chest and he closed his eyes.

       “Do you want me to call someone?” Ned asked. “Tony?”

       At the mention of Tony, Peter snapped his head up and shook it. Tony didn’t need to know about this. He was already dealing with enough today, Peter didn’t need to add to that.

       “Then what?” Ned asked softly, concern all over his face.

       Peter looked down at the cuffs on his wrists and just the thought of hiding behind his mask started to loosen the tightness in his chest. He looked back up at Ned. “I need you to cover for me,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

       Ned tilted his head to the side.

       “I… I can’t be here,” Peter said, wiping his tears off his cheeks. “I need to get out and… and do something.”

       Ned looked down at Peter’s wrist cuffs and then back up. “Are you sure?”

       Peter paused. “It’s the only way they won’t see Peter Parker when they look at me,” he said softly.

       At that, Ned nodded. 

       It wasn’t the worst plan Peter had ever had, and all he really wanted to do was get away from whispers and stares.

       “I’ll tell them your aunt came and got you,” Ned said.

       Peter sniffed and pulled himself to his feet, noticing that the mostly deserted hallway was now completely empty. “Thanks, Ned,” he said, giving him a small smile.

       Ned returned the smile. “You should go before a teacher comes looking for us.”

       Peter nodded and looked around. Crawling out of a window was out, the paparazzi could see him, but maybe if he found a way to the roof?

       Jumping up, Peter stuck himself to the ceiling, removing one of the panels and crawling into the darkness. He reached into his backpack and took out the web slingers before lowering the bag down to Ned.

       “Can you put that in my locker?” He asked.

       “Sure,” Ned replied, looking up at him with a mixture of worry and awe.

       Peter took a breath and pressed his thumb to one of the cuffs, feeling himself able to breathe better as the mask covered his face. “See you later?”

       “See you later,” Ned confirmed.

       Peter replaced the panel and looked around in the dark, the mask adjusting so he could see where he was going. A small part of him wondered what would happen if he just stayed in the ceiling for the rest of his life, but it was clear how bad of an idea that would be as he could still hear the conversations. No, he needed to get out of the school as fast as possible.

       “Hello, Peter,” Karen said. “I have not received any distress calls and the time indicates you should still be in school.”

       “Karen,” Peter said, realizing he’d completely forgotten about her. “Right. We’re just… taking a break from school today.”

       “Mr. Stark made it clear you should not be patrolling during school hours,” Karen said.

       “I’m not patrolling, Karen,” Peter said. “I’m… hiding.”

       “Hiding?” Karen asked. “Is there an imminent threat? Your heart rate is elevated, should I call Mr. Stark?”

       “No!” Peter said quickly. “Trust me. Everything is okay. Tony even said I could take a break today if I wanted.”

       Karen paused as if she was thinking about it. “Whatever you say, Peter.”

       With that, Peter began to make his way up. It wasn’t hard to find his way once he reached one of the vents. So long as he kept moving up and avoided the possibility of falling into a classroom, he’d be fine.

       In no time at all, Peter had found his way to the very top of the school, crawling through an air duct and stepping out onto the roof. It felt like an invisible weight had been lifted off his chest and he almost cried at how much better it felt to be Spider-Man. Letting the suit adjust to the new light, he looked around to make sure no one had seen him crawl out of the school.

       Taking a deep breath, Peter shot a web and hurled himself off the roof, leaving the school, and everyone in it, behind.


	2. Chapter 2

        Tony sighed as he finally made his way into the tower. His entire morning had been nothing but Pepper ironically yelling at him to keep his temper and lawyers trying to find a way to keep him from being sued. And through it all, Tony could only think about how much he didn’t care about anything but the kid. Who cared if the reporter sued him for breaking his nose when Peter was having to spend an entire day surrounded by judgemental teenagers? He put a hand to his suddenly aching chest and took a deep breath.

       “There he is, the man of the hour,” Sam said.

       Tony looked up to find almost everyone standing in the common area, almost as if they were waiting for him.

       “I take it you heard?” Tony asked as he stepped over to one of the couches and slumped into it with a huff.

       “Heard?” Bucky asked, pulling out his phone. “You’re trending.”

       Tony’s eyebrows knitted together as he watched the youtube video from the perspective of one of Peter’s classmates. “Internet lingo? And you finally figured out apps?” He asked, raising an eyebrow at Bucky.

       Bucky shrugged. “I’m getting the hang of it.”

       “Back to the point,” Nat said. 

       “I know, I know,” Tony said, leaning his head back against the couch. “It was reckless and irresponsible.”

       “Uh, try badass and totally worth it,” Clint said.

       “No, it  _ was  _ reckless and irresponsible,” Steve said. “But it was also something every one of us would have done. Besides, that guy looked like a weasel. He could do with a broken nose.”

       Tony looked around at them all. “Wow, you guys are much nicer than Pepper was.”

       “That’s because we don’t have to deal with bad PR,” Rhodey said.

       “And because you’re talking to a group of people who would also be ready to throw down for that kid,” Sam said.

       Tony paused, looking down at his hands in his lap. “I’m afraid I shouldn’t have left him there,” he admitted. “Like, maybe we should have just gone home?”

       “Honestly, Tony, it wasn’t that bad, all things considered,” Steve said. “It could’ve been way worse.”

       Tony fished out his phone to check the time. “I can’t believe I still have to wait two and a half hours until I can go pick him up. Why is school so long? I don’t remember school being this long.”

       “That’s because you never went,” Rhodey said, just as Tony’s phone began to ring.

       “Fuck,” Tony said, looking down at the phone. “It’s May.”

       Sam started laughing. “Good luck, man,” he said.

       Tony gave him a look before answering the phone. “Hey, May,” he said slowly.

       “Tony,” May said, maybe a little frantically.

       “Look, I know what you’re gonna say, but I had it all under control.”

       May paused. “Oh, you mean the reporter thing? Come on Tony, we both know if I’d been there they’d be carrying him away in a body bag.”

       “She’s got a point,” Sam whispered.

       “No, I’m calling about Peter,” she continued. “I got a call from the school a few minutes ago reminding me that if I pick him up before school is over I’m supposed to sign him out. Except I didn’t pick him up, so I can only assume you did?”

       Tony sat up straight, suddenly on full alert. “No, I didn’t go get him,” he said. “I told him to give me a call if he needed to get out early and I don’t have any messages or anything.”

       “Damn it,” May said with a sigh.

       “FRIDAY,” Tony said. “Locate Peter.”

       It took FRIDAY less than ten seconds to give them a location. “Peter is currently heading south on thirty-sixth street.” She pulled up a 3D map with a little Spider-Man symbol heading south and then making a left turn.

       “We got him, May,” Tony said. “He’s wearing the suit?” He directed the question to FRIDAY.

       “Yes,” FRIDAY replied.

       They watched Peter move, his direction changing every once in a while making it look like he had no destination in mind.

       “Where’s he going?” Tony murmured.

       “Would you like me to call him?” FRIDAY asked.

       Tony hesitated, not sure if Peter would even pick up if he tried. “Okay,” he said.

       They heard the line ring four times before Peter’s voice filled the room.

       “No, no, Karen! Damn it.”

       “Peter?” Tony said carefully.

       “Hey, Tony,” Peter said, his voice strained, though he was clearly trying to sound nonchalant. “What’s up?”

       “Uh, I was just calling to see how your day’s going.”

       There was a long pause before Peter finally answered. “Uh, you know, it’s school. Not exactly eventful.”

       Tony exchanged a glance with the rest of the room. “Are you sure?” He said. “Because I know I sorta left you in a tight spot, and I wanted to make sure nothing happened afterward.”

       “Nope,” Peter said, a bit too quickly. “Just the same old boring stuff. Spanish, Chemistry, you know.”

       Peter wasn’t a decent liar on a good day and they could almost feel the deception in the air.

       “Peter,” Tony said softly. “You know, your suit has GPS.”

       There was another pause. “I know,” he said.

       Tony tried to keep himself from sighing. “Okay, well, I told you to let me know if you needed to leave school early, so the offer still stands.”

       Peter cleared his throat. “Yeah, I know.”

       “Okay,” Tony said. “Well, I’ll see you later then?”

       “Yeah,” Peter said softly. “See you.”

       Tony hung up the phone and went back to the conversation with May. “Well, he definitely cut class, but I’m not exactly sure why yet.”

       “But he’s okay?” May asked.

       “He’s alive and swinging around New York,” Tony said. “But I don’t know if he’s okay.”

       May paused. “Okay, well, let me know if anything happens. I’ll tell you if he comes here.”

       Tony hung up and looked down at the symbol indicating Peter’s whereabouts. There was still no rhyme or reason to his movements and Tony felt the tightness in his chest grow as he watched.

       “FRIDAY?” Tony said. “Keep an eye on him and let me know if he goes anywhere dangerous.”

       “Of course,” FRIDAY replied.

       A silence settled over them as they exchanged glances and an urgency to find the kid immediately made them antsy.

       “He just needs some time,” Steve said, as if he was trying to convince himself. “I’m sure he’ll come here when he’s ready.”

       They all silently agreed, but it did little to relieve the tension. Who knew how long it would be before Peter had had enough time alone?

       The answer to that question arrived almost two hours later when FRIDAY announced that Peter was on his way to the tower after aimlessly swinging around and taking a break every once in a while. Tony could barely hide his anticipation as he watched the symbol swing through the city toward them. He wanted to leave and meet him halfway, but he restrained himself, knowing he had to let Peter come to him.

       “Peter is in the building, boss,” FRIDAY said helpfully even though they could all see for themselves. 

       The next second, Peter slowly entered the room, wringing his hands together nervously and looking like a scared rabbit.

       Tony stood as he came in, letting out a breath as he looked physically okay.

       Peter placed a thumb on his cuff and the suit retracted, leaving him in the tshirt and jeans he’d worn that day.

       Tony hesitated. “School get let out early?” He asked.

       Peter didn’t want to look at him. “Tony, I know you’re not stupid, so I know you know I was lying.”

       “Well,” Tony said. “I wasn’t expecting a confession so early.”

       Peter turned slightly angry eyes up to him. “I didn’t realize I was in an interrogation room.”

       “You’d better have a good reason for skipping class,” Tony said, bristling at the attitude coming off the teenager.

       “You mean aside from the fact that you punched the lights out of a reporter in front of the whole school?” Peter snapped.

       Tony was taken aback slightly, but was never one to back down from a fight. “I told you to call me if you needed to leave,” he said firmly.

       Everyone in the room looked like they were watching an intense ping pong match.

       “Right, and have you pull up in another five-hundred thousand dollar car and have my face plastered all over the internet as the little orphan who can’t even get through a full day of high school.”

       “Peter,” Tony said, the bite completely gone from his voice.

       But Peter continued as if he hadn’t heard him. “I can have all the kids at school whisper about how I’m controlling you by lying to everyone. And then, who knows? Someone will probably come up with the idea that I must have killed my own parents in an effort to get close to you. And then I’m probably also to blame for my uncle’s death, which will of course not even be that far off.”

       “Peter, come on, now,” Steve said. “That’s enough.”

       “That’s easy for you to say,” Peter said. “You all get to hide in the tower every time something goes wrong and it’ll eventually blow over. But me? I’ve got two more years of this bullshit.”

       “Language!” Steve and Tony said in unison.

       It was a knee-jerk reaction every time Peter cursed, Tony and Steve sometimes didn’t even realize they were doing it. But this time they should have just kept their mouths shut.

       “No, no ‘language’!” Peter said angrily. “I am my own person and none of you have the right to tell me what I can and cannot say, what I can and can't do! Today was one of the worst days of my life and all you can do is focus on all the ways I screwed up in handling it!”

       “Peter,” Tony said, taking a step forward.

       Peter stepped back almost instantly. “I just… I just came by to let you know I don’t need a ride home from school,” he said before pressing his thumb to one of the cuffs and barely letting the suit cover him before darting away and swinging out the first open window he came across.

       Tony reached up and tapped the triangular arc reactor on his chest, and when his suit covered him completely, he followed Peter out of the building.

       The kid hadn’t gone far and in no time, Tony found him sitting on the roof of a building about a block away. He’d retracted his mask so Tony could clearly see his red rimmed eyes, and he couldn’t feel more like an ass as he watched Peter wring his hands together and keep his eyes facing downward.

       “You here to take my suit away?” Peter asked quietly.

       Tony touched down on the roof and let his mask disappear. “I wouldn’t do that,” he said, stepping forward.

       Peter just glanced at him as they both knew he could and in fact had.

       “Okay, I wouldn’t do that now,” Tony corrected himself, taking a seat next to Peter and feeling relief as he didn’t try to get away.

       Peter didn’t reply.

       “Peter,” Tony said softly. “I’m sorry.”

       Peter looked over at him, the light breeze combing through his curls.

       “I shouldn’t have lost my temper, at you or the reporter,” he heaved a sigh. “And I really should lock my Twitter account when I’m drunk.”

       A slight smile appeared on Peter’s lips.

       “This isn’t fair to you,” Tony continued. “You’d been living a normal life and then, in the span of twenty-four hours, it all kinda crashed in on you at the same time. So, I’m sorry for that.”

       Peter took a shaky breath. “It’s not really all your fault,” he said. “Just… the reporters this morning and then…” he looked down at his hands. “Kids at school. It all sorta…” He shrugged sadly.

       Tony paused. “Peter,” he said softly. “Did something else happen?”

       It was clear Peter had been dreading this conversation as he looked out at the city and continued to wring his hands together.

       “Hey,” Tony put a hand on Peter’s shoulder. “What happened?”

       Peter swallowed and tried to blink away his tears, but it wasn’t working. “It’s stupid,” he said, sniffing.

       “If it has you this upset, it’s not stupid,” Tony said firmly.

       Peter looked over at him and sighed. “I shouldn’t listen to anything he says, he’s just a jerk with a superiority complex who hates that I do better in school than he does.”

       “Flash?” Tony asked.

       “Didn’t take you three guesses,” Peter mumbled.

       “That fucking kid, I swear to god,” Tony said through gritted teeth.

       “Language,” Peter said softly, giving Tony a grin.

       “What did he say?” Tony asked, not letting them get sidetracked.

       Peter looked back out to the city. “He thinks I lied to you,” he said. “Basically just repeating what the reporter said. But because Flash always has to take things a step further, he said he thinks I’m lying to you because…” He trailed off.

       “Because?” Tony pressed.

       New waves of tears started to flow. “Because no one actually cares about me and I have to lie to get attention.”

       Tony pulled the crying kid to him, hugging him tightly. “You know that’s not true, right?” He asked softly after a minute. “You know how much I love you, how much May loves you. Hell, I had to force half the Avengers to stay in their seats while we waited for you because all they wanted to do was go out and find you.”

       Silent tears leaked out of Peter’s eyes as he lay his head on Tony’s chest, comforted by the vibrations every time he spoke.

       “You are an amazing kid, Peter,” Tony continued. “And I’m not saying that just because I’m your soulmate. You are smart, and way kinder than I was at your age. You got your powers and immediately decided to help people. What do you think Flash would’ve done if it was him?”

       Peter sniffed again. “He’d probably tell the media immediately,” he mumbled.

       “That stupid kid is jealous of you,” Tony said. “He’s mad because you’re better than he is at school, all your teachers love you, and now you’re getting all this attention and he’s in the background and it infuriates him. He was  _ trying _ to upset you by using any lies he could think of.”

       Peter sighed and let himself be held for a while. From the second Tony had left him at school, this was all he’d wanted and he didn’t want to let go too soon.

       “I'm sorry I got mad.” Peter whispered after a while.

       “No, you had every right,” Tony assured. “I shouldn't have expected you to handle this the way I did. You're new to this. Hell, my first picture in the paper was my ultrasound.”

       Peter laughed and pulled away. “They had ultrasounds way back then?” He asked.

       “Watch it,” Tony said, but with no real bite to his words.

       Peter sighed. “How am I supposed to go to school tomorrow?”

       Tony hesitated. “Well, I’m certainly not going to make you go,” he said.

       “The thing is,” Peter said. “I don’t want them to think they got to me. I don’t want them to think they’ve won.” He paused. “I should march up to that school tomorrow with a Tony Stark attitude and tell Flash to eat a dick.”

       “Oh my god, please let me follow you around with a camera tomorrow,” Tony said hopefully.

       Peter smiled at him. “I’m not gonna let anyone talk to me like that again,” he said.

       Tony clapped him on the back. “That’s the Peter I know,” he said proudly. “Now,” he got to his feet. “We should head back. I’m sure everyone is worried.”

       Peter stood as well. “I don’t know if I can face everyone after all that,” he said.

       “Hey, if they can forgive Bruce for his anger problems, they can forgive you,” he let his mask cover his face again and activated his thrusters. “Race ya.”

       Peter smiled and let his own mask fall into place. “You’re on.”

 

~.~.~

 

       They hadn’t said a word when Peter and Tony returned, and, in fact, pretended like nothing had happened at all. Peter had to say he was glad they didn’t say anything. It was mortifying enough having a breakdown in front of all your heroes, let alone having to talk about it after. Instead, Steve suggested takeout and a movie and, though they didn’t actually  _ say  _ Peter could pick the movie, they let him anyway.

       “This is all very strange,” Loki said about halfway through the movie. “These little people have to climb a mountain to throw a ring into a volcano? Why does the bearded one not use his magic to destroy it himself?”

       “He doesn’t have that kind of power,” Peter replied, not taking his eyes off the movie.

       “Well, that’s ridiculous,” Loki said. “He has all of this power but cannot make his own lava? And why not call another winged beast to fly them up to the mountain so they don’t have to walk?”

       Peter laughed. “Just watch the movie.”

       Loki living there was… interesting, to say the least. After getting the stamp of approval from Peter, Tony let him stay at the tower so long as he was under constant surveillance. Loki didn’t exactly trust anyone there either, save Peter, so he stuck with Thor almost constantly. They all had to admit, it was the strangest thing seeing Loki walk around the tower in a t-shirt and jeans, but it did make him look a touch less intimidating.

       But if the wardrobe change didn’t shift their view of him, every interaction Loki had with Peter did. Tony knew, as did the rest of the Avengers, that one look from Peter was enough to make anyone’s heart melt. And, evidently, gods were not immune. After that first night at Peter’s party, Loki would watch him warily, still not sure who to trust, but it didn’t take long for him to eventually warm up to the kid, so much so that he would watch strange Earth movies and eat greasy pizza. Loki was not a fan of pizza. He’d wrinkled his nose at it and refused to take a single bite right up until Peter gave him the puppy eyes.

       Tony had to admit, Loki liking Peter was proof that he wasn’t  _ completely _ evil.

       Thor loved the kid, as expected. They’d spent hours in the gym trying to find a limit to his strength. They hadn’t found it yet, but Tony was sure they would soon. It was unfortunate Thor had lost his hammer. It either would have stopped him, or Peter would be worthy to rule Asgard.

       Tony didn’t want to say it, but he’d bet on Peter being worthy.

       The only one who loved Peter more than the rest, aside from Tony, was Bucky. Tony didn’t want to admit to being jealous of the  _ assassin,  _ but he had to admit that having Bucky around was a huge help. Tony was prone to fly off the handle… clearly. But Bucky… well, Bucky had a much gentler approach to things. For one thing, everything he said felt like he was wrapping you up in a blanket. But even with his soft voice, and extremely sad eyes, Bucky could instill fear into anyone’s heart. When he was with Peter, though? That was a whole different situation. He smiled at Peter like he was his own son. He helped where he could, whether it was fighting or homework, and was the first to jump to his feet when Peter was in trouble. For the longest time, Tony wasn’t sure what it was that drew Bucky to the kid, and then he heard Buky tell a story about when he and Steve were kids, and it clicked. Peter was Steve.

       Tony had a sneaky suspicion Bucky saw Peter as his and Steve’s kid and, Tony didn’t want to admit it, but he did look like their love-child.

       When the movie finally ended, and Loki had voiced all his criticisms, Tony shut the tv off and looked over at Peter.

       “You’ve got school tomorrow, kid,” he said pointedly.

       Peter groaned and slumped against the back of the couch.

       “I don’t think he should have to go to school after today,” Bucky said softly.

       “No, I’m gonna go,” Peter replied. “I’m just… not exactly looking forward to it.”

       “Maybe taking a day off will help,” Steve said.

       “I’ve already taken three and a half days off,” Peter said. “Do you know how far behind missing a week can put you? Flash isn’t going to ruin my education just because he’s a dick.”

       “With a brain like yours, I don’t think he can,” Steve said.

       Peter smiled at him. “It’s not just that,” he said. “I don’t want to run away. Not just to prove to Flash that he didn’t get to me, but to prove to myself that he can’t get to me. What Flash thinks shouldn’t bother me, and what he said was probably the worst thing he’s ever said to me, but he’s just a dumb high school kid and I have a lot more serious things to worry about than Flash’s mouth.”

       Tony smiled proudly. “Well,” he said. “I think tomorrow we should be smarter about things.”

       “Which means no punching out reporters,” Peter said with a smile.

       “Not even one?” Tony asked, pouting dramatically.

       Peter snorted and stood. “Hey, you’re the one who will end up with your face on the front page tomorrow,” he said with a shrug.

       “Go to bed, you miscreant,” Tony said, shoving him slightly.

       Peter laughed and left the room amongst choruses of “Goodnight, Peter,” from everyone in the room.

       “We’re coming with you to drop him off tomorrow,” Steve said as they watched him leave.

       “Who’s ‘we’?” Tony asked.

       “All of us,” Loki replied.


	3. Chapter 3

       Peter followed Tony down to the garage with a mixture of fear and determination making it hard for him to eat the breakfast sandwich Steve had made him that morning.

       “You’ll be fine, Pete,” Tony said as he unlocked the car door. “We’re gonna make sure of that.

      Peter looked up to find two super soldiers entering the garage behind them. “Wait, you guys are coming too?” Peter asked as Tony tossed the keys to the Ferrari to Bucky.

       “There was talk that Happy could handle the bodyguard duties, but we decided a couple of super soldiers would be much more intimidating,” Steve replied.

       “Especially one who’s an ex-assassin,” Bucky added.

       “You guys aren’t planning on doing anything violent, are you?” Peter asked, looking from the soldiers to Tony and back.

       “They’re just extra insurance,” Tony said, leading Peter to the Audi. “They’re there to make sure I don’t kill anyone and that no one hurts you.”

       Peter sat down in the passenger’s seat, hugging his backpack to his chest. “They’re not gonna follow me around school all day, are they?”

       Tony laughed. “Bucky actually suggested that, but I talked him out of it. The last thing we need is Bucky pummeling a fifteen-year-old kid into the ground for looking at you wrong.”

       Peter smiled at that. Not that he’d want Bucky to beat Flash into the ground, but a little intimidation couldn’t hurt.

       Tony turned the key and the engine roared to life. With a quick salute to Bucky, the two of them pulled out of the garage and began the journey to Peter’s school.

       It was much the same as last time, though one of the reporters was wearing a bandage on his nose and looking murderous. None of them felt bad about that. The lights were flashing and, as they realized who was driving Tony’s other car, a sea of shock rippled through the crowd. None of them had ever seen Cap this close before, and no one but the Avengers knew the whole story behind Bucky, so needless to say it was surprising to see them.

       Peter swallowed and looked out his window, trying to keep the memories from the day before at bay.

       “You’re sure about this?” Tony asked as he killed the engine.

       Peter nodded. “I can’t let them scare me away,” he said. “I won’t.”

       Tony smiled and stepped out of the car. “Then let’s do this.”

       Peter stepped out with his head held high, backpack slung over his shoulder and Tony’s sunglasses in place. He’d realized that the difference between other celebrities and him was confidence, and he put every ounce he had into his walk.

       Steve was half a step behind them on their left and Bucky was in the same position on the right. They were both taller and burlier than Peter and Tony and were practically oozing with intimidation. If that reporter thought he was going a second round with Tony, Peter was sure he was second guessing that decision.

       Peter felt the hairs on his arm raise and he looked up to find Sam crouching on top of the school. To his left, Clint and Natasha were on another building, hidden to everyone but someone with a spidey sense. Sitting on top of a light pole, too tiny to see, was Scott. Rhodey and Thor were in one of Tony’s cars watching them from across the street. Wanda was hidden amongst the students and Vision was dressed as a cameraman. And, standing half a block away in a black suit looking anything but inconspicuous, Loki.

       “Is everyone here?” Peter whispered.

       Tony looked around at them all. “They were a little miffed at not being allowed to be a part of body guard duty. I told them to stay hidden.”

       Peter tried to hide his smile. It wasn’t needed, he could take care of himself, but it was nice to see how much they cared.

       When they hit the sea of reporters, the questions began again. But instead of stopping for even a second, Tony and Peter pushed through, Bucky and Steve creating a much-needed barrier. Not a single person could get through, and most didn’t want to. Captain America looked nice on tv, but his glare could only be matched by Bucky’s. Not a single one of them even wanted to look at Bucky. Bucky was a teddy bear and hardly said a word, but when he did, it was always so quiet, they really had to be listening to catch it. But when Bucky became The Winter Soldier, all bets were off. If you looked into his eyes, you died.

       They reached the doors, the students standing in front of them parting to let them through, and Peter let the air out of his lungs the second the doors shut behind them.

       “Well, overall, I think that was much better than yesterday,” Tony said cheerfully.

       “At least no one is bleeding this time,” Peter said, smiling over at him.

       Steve and Bucky were looking around at all the students. They didn’t look as threatening, but they weren’t smiling either. Peter wasn’t sure if this was a good or bad thing, but maybe more kids would back off after today.

       “Okay,” Tony said, turning to Peter. “Are you sure you’ll be okay today? If you’ve changed your mind about a couple of super soldier bodyguards, just say the word.”

       Peter smiled. “I think everyone got the message,” he said, then took a breath. “Yeah, I think I’ll be okay. I think I just...wasn’t expecting it yesterday. It was all a little too much at the same time. But I think today will be better.”

       Tony smiled proudly down at him. “Okay, well, tell me if you need to leave again. And actually tell me this time. I’ll blast through the wall and fly you out of here if I have to.”

       Peter actually believed he would. “I’ll be fine,” he reassured. “And I’ll call you if I’m not.”

       The three adults turned to leave, giving Peter encouraging smiles, when Flash finally appeared in the hallway.

       “Hey, Penis!” Flash yelled. “I didn’t think you’d have the balls to show up today.”

       Peter opened his mouth to reply when he saw all the blood drain from Flash’s face as he stared behind him. He turned and saw that Tony, Steve, and Bucky had all stopped in their tracks.

       Very slowly, Bucky turned, his face a mask of complete hatred.

       “Bucky,” Steve warned, turning as well and really trying hard not to make the kid shit himself just with his presence.

       Tony didn’t turn, and they were all fairly certain he was slowly counting to ten.

       With his eyes still burning a hole in Flash’s head, Bucky stepped back over to where he’d originally been standing.

       “Peter,” Bucky said, his voice a low growl, but loud enough to be heard by everyone.

       Peter looked up at him, maybe only a little afraid of his stony face.

       Bucky finally tore his eyes away from Flash to look at Peter with a slightly sadistic smile. “If anyone messes with you today,” he said. “Let me know.”

       Peter nodded and Bucky looked back up at Flash, the threat hanging in the air, before turning and leading the way back to the doors.

       “What’s the matter, Parker?” Flash said, a little bit of an edge to his voice. “Can’t fight your own battles?”

       “Okay, that’s it,” Tony said, turning and beginning to walk back to where Peter stood.

       “Tony,” Peter said firmly, holding one hand up to stop him and staring him straight in the eyes. “I’ll see you guys back at the tower,” he said, looking pointedly at the doors behind them, not even registering the fact that the whole school had gone eerily silent.

       Tony looked at Peter as if to ask if he was sure. Peter stared back, the confidence in his eyes being all the answer he needed.

       “Okay,” Tony said. “I’ll see you then.”

       Peter watched the three of them walk out of the school before finally turning his attention to Flash, who, to his credit, looked like he was about to wet himself. Peter knew Flash was an asshole, often wondering how he could fit his giant head through the door, but he didn’t know he was stupid enough to challenge an assassin.

       He walked right up to him, not once breaking eye contact. Flash looked like he was ready to fight Peter if it came down to it. But instead of fighting, Peter just looked into Flash’s eyes, hopefully getting his message across, before brushing past him and heading straight for Ned who was standing off to the side, his eyes the size of dinner plates.

       “That was so badass,” Ned said, his voice barely above a whisper.

       “Keep walking, I can’t feel my legs,” Peter whispered back, his heart hammering in his chest. That was the most confrontation he’d ever had outside the mask and he was not equipped to handle it.

       Ned smiled. “I don’t think Flash will mess with you for a while,” he said happily.

       Peter shrugged. “I just hope we didn’t make it worse.”

 

~.~.~

 

       Tony stalked back to his car, not even registering that he was being asked questions by reporters as he went.

       “Okay, everyone needs to calm down,” Steve said once they were out of earshot, looking sideways at Bucky’s angry face.

       Tony stopped unlocking his car and spun around to look at him. “That fucking punk has no business talking that way to my kid,” he said angrily.

       “Tony,” Steve said firmly. “We can’t go around threatening sixteen-year-olds. Yeah, the kid’s a dick, but he’s still a kid and we can’t forget that.”

       “That kid needs to be taught a lesson,” Bucky murmured.

       “Not by us,” Steve said. “One day he’ll get punched in the face, but it can’t be by three full grown men at least three times his size. Peter can take care of himself. He can catch a car in midair for Christ’s sake, handling a school bully is nothing.”

       “It’s not just about fighting, Rogers,” Tony said. “That fucking kid is getting in Peter’s head. He’s the reason Peter got so upset yesterday. Peter can handle a fight, but I’m not going to let him suffer emotional abuse from a spoiled brat who can’t stand not being in the spotlight.”

       With that, Tony slid into his car and let the roar of the engine drown out anything else Steve was going to say as well as the noise of the reporters. Turning up the music to obnoxious levels, he pulled out of the parking lot and headed back to the tower.

       It wasn’t that he wanted to throw down with a kid. Flash was a no-good punk who absolutely deserved to be taught a lesson, but Tony knew Steve was right. Fighting a kid was stupid and dangerous. He didn’t deserve to be beaten down by Iron Man and The Winter Soldier in front of God and the whole school. But Peter didn’t deserve the way he’d been treated either, and Tony was stuck on how to fix the whole situation. Going to the principal never helped. Schools always had a no tolerance for bullying policy that was almost never implemented. And aside from that, the damn kid was wearing designer everything, which meant his rich parents were probably donating a lot to the school and there was no way Flash would get in trouble for anything. Tony donating his own money wouldn’t do anything either, as the school would just be happy to get his money  _ and _ Flash’s money.

       And that, more than anything, was what had Tony furious. The fact that there was probably nothing he could actually do made him more angry than he cared to admit. There was no way Peter would throw the first punch, and, in fact, it was highly likely he wouldn’t fight back because, as they all knew, Peter would hold back to keep from hurting him. But it was also unlikely that Flash would try to fight Peter in the first place. With kids like Flash, it was always about getting in your head and making you feel like shit.

       Tony sighed as he made it back to his garage and rested his forehead on the steering wheel. If they were going to have to deal with that damn kid for another two years, they were going to need a plan to get through it.

       “Jealousy is a powerful thing.”

       Tony looked up and saw Loki lurking in the shadows. He heaved a sigh and killed the engine, stepping out of his car to face him. “I guess you’d know all about that,” he said, warily.

       Loki stepped further into the light. “It was my sole motivator,” he said. “Seeing someone else get everything you want can drive a person mad.”

       “Almost to the point where they try to take over the world,” Tony said, an eyebrow raised.

       Loki gave a small smile that suggested he wasn’t even sorry. “Well,” he said. “There are extreme cases.” He started to walk around the many cars in Tony’s garage, taking his time admiring each of them.

       Tony never took his eyes off him, ready for an attack should it come.

       “Peter is…” Loki trailed off, trying to find the right word. “Special,” he decided. “He grew up with next to nothing and still managed to live his life happily. Now he has everything he could ever want, and still, he remains the same.” He paused. “It can be… infuriating to watch someone thrive in almost any condition, and I would wager that is what is going on in the mind of this boy who thinks he can say and do whatever he wants.”

       Tony squinted, not sure exactly where Loki was going with this or if he wanted to go there with him.

       “I can say with certainty that I understand this boy’s motivations,” he turned menacing eyes to Tony. “And that if he does anything to hurt Peter, I will not hesitate to exact revenge.”

       “I don’t think Flash is quite capable of everything you are,” Tony said.

       Loki smiled. “You would be surprised at what a jealous heart can achieve.”

       Tony sighed. “Look,” he said. “I get it. In your own… twisted way, you care about Peter. And, if I’m honest, it’s nice to see how many people are willing to go to prison for him. But before we start in on the homicide, we should probably let Peter try to handle it himself. A school bully is not the same as a jealous demigod.”

       Loki seemed to take his words into consideration before shrugging. “We shall see.”

       Tony watched him walk away, not sure if he should tell someone Loki may or may not be plotting the death of a teenager. Instead of doing anything, however, Tony was distracted by the sound of his Ferrari pulling into the garage. Behind it, Sam, Vision, and Wanda flew in and he could only assume the rest of the team was either on their way or had different things to do.

       Steve and Bucky got out of the car a little warily and they all stood in the garage in silence.

       “Shit, it’s not like we sent the kid off to war,” Tony said, not liking the feeling they were radiating. “He’ll be home at three, you guys need to chill.”

       “I don’t like it,” Bucky said. “I don’t like leaving him there on his own.”

       “It’s school,” Tony said. “He’s been going to school his whole life, he can handle seven hours.”

       “Seven hours?” Steve said. “What are we supposed to do for seven hours?”

       “You guys, it’s not like this is the first time Peter’s ever gone to school,” Tony said. “We can do what we normally do.”

       No one moved.

       Tony felt like his soul was leaving his body as they all looked lost. “Well,” he said. “I’m gonna go help run my company.” He started to back away. “And we’ll call Peter at lunch, okay?”

       They all seemed to perk up at that, and Tony had to wonder how he suddenly became the parent to so many helpless children.


	4. Chapter 4

       Peter had never had a weirder day of school in all his life. It seemed as though everyone got a memo that if they so much as breathed near Peter, The Winter Soldier would jump out of a closet and stab them. Not that Peter could complain, of course. A lot of the time he enjoyed spending time with only Ned, especially now that Ned knew about Spider-Man. But he still felt unsettled at the general atmosphere of the school. He’d never wanted people to be afraid of him, just to leave him alone.

       And, of course, Flash spent the entire day ignoring him. Not a single student was as spooked as he was, but there also seemed to be a feeling of contempt for Peter for scaring him. Peter couldn’t decide if he was sad or annoyed by it, especially because of all the things Flash had said the day before right in front of everyone and no one but Ned gave a shit.

       So, yeah, Peter had to say, in his own petty way, he enjoyed the feeling.

       At least for the first three hours. It started to get old around fourth period and, by the time lunch rolled around, Peter started to come up with ideas to fix things.

       He knew there was no way he’d be able to change Flash’s attitude. The kid had had everything handed to him all his life, he was forever going to see Peter as beneath him. But Peter also knew that, no matter how good you had it, living in fear wasn’t fair to anyone.

       “But it’s Flash,” Ned said as they headed to the cafeteria. “If anyone deserves to be knocked down a peg or two, it’s him.”

       “Ned, look at everyone,” Peter said, waving his hand around at the teenagers giving him wary looks. “They think that, with one phone call, I could get Bucky down here to shoot up the place. And the shitty thing is,  _ they’re probably right _ .”

       “It’s so cool that you call him Bucky,” Ned replied.

       “Ned, come on,” Peter said. “This is serious. I don’t want everyone to be afraid of me. I just…” he sighed. “I wish I could go back to being invisible. But since I can’t, I have to fix this.”

       “So, what do you plan to do, then?” Ned asked.

       “Something I’ve been dreading all day,” Peter replied as they entered the cafeteria. “Talk to Flash.”

       Flash looked up from his spot at the far end of the cafeteria and gave Peter a glare, clearly the only one not afraid to invoke The Winter Soldier’s wrath. Or, he knew Peter wasn’t the type of person to seek revenge.

       Peter had to move forward before he could talk himself out of it, but his legs didn’t want to move.

       “Peter,” Ned said, snapping Peter out of the trance he’d put himself into. “Your leg is vibrating.”

       Peter looked down at his pocket and fished out his phone, feeling a sense of calm come over him when he saw who was calling him. “I’m… gonna take this first,” he said to Ned.

       Ned just smiled and followed Peter back out of the cafeteria as Peter answered his phone. One good thing about having Flash at his school, he’d thrown a temper tantrum to let them use cell phones during lunch.

       “Hey, Tony,” Peter said into the phone.

       “Hi, Peter,” came the chorus of voices on the other end.

       Peter laughed. “I guess I’m talking to everyone, not just Tony?”

       “They’re like puppies waiting for you to get out of school,” Tony replied. “They won’t stop following me.”

       “How’s it going over there?” Bucky’s soft voice chimed in.

       “Uh,” Peter hesitated. “Technically better than yesterday, I guess.”

       “Is anyone messing with you?” Tony asked immediately.

       “Well, no,” Peter said. “But I think it’s because they’re all afraid of you guys.”

       There was a pause. “We… we kinda laid it on a little thick, didn’t we?” Tony said.

       “Maybe a little,” Peter admitted. “But it’s not like it’s all your fault. I could’ve stopped you. I just… I think I was still mad about yesterday and I didn’t think about consequences.”

       There was another pause. “How is Peter the most mature out of all of us?” Steve asked.

       The next couple of seconds sounded like they were arguing but trying to keep Peter from hearing. Peter looked over at Ned who had heard everything and was trying not to laugh.

       “...because he’s my soulmate, that’s why,” Tony muttered. “Okay, well, we just wanted to make sure everything was going okay,” he said louder, a touch of frustration in his voice. “And let you know again that we can come get you early if you need it.”

       Peter smiled. “I think I’ll be okay today,” he reassured them. “I think I just have to-”

       The sound of windows breaking and people screaming cut him off and he looked toward the cafeteria, watching some kids run out of it in fear.

       “Peter? Peter! Peter, what’s going on?”

       “I’ll have to call you back,” Peter said.

       “No, Peter, don’t-”

       But whatever Tony was going to say was cut off as Peter hung up the phone and ran to the cafeteria, Ned at his heels.

       They both stopped at the exact same time, staring wide-eyed at what looked like a knock off of the Iron Man suit standing in the middle of the cafeteria, glass from the windows everywhere.

       “Peter,” Ned warned, not wanting to let go of Peter’s sleeve.

       Peter gently shook Ned off to get closer to the suit, when it moved.

       “Holy shit,” someone said.

       The armored man stood up from his crouched position, not even acting concerned at the destruction of the cafeteria or that his entrance had caused injuries that really should be looked at.

       “Hello, children,” the man said, looking around at them all and making more than one teenager whimper.

       His suit was silver, as if he didn’t even think to change the color the way Tony had, and it looked closer to one of the original suits. It had the same glowing arc reactor in the chest, but the eyes remained dark, almost soulless. Most of the kids were frozen in shock, staring at him in abject horror.

       “Now,” he said, taking a step forward and making everyone in the room step back. He held up his hands. “I’m not here to hurt anyone,” he said, clearly not noticing, or at least not caring about the glass shards that had already cut a few kids. “I’m here to pick up a student.”

       There were fearful glances as everyone wondered which student was about to be taken by who they could only assume was Iron Man’s evil twin.

       “Which one of you brats,” he spat. “Is Peter Parker?”

       The blood drained from Peter’s face and he felt his heart drop into his stomach while Ned let out a tiny squeak behind him.

       No one moved. No one made a single sound.

       “Okay,” the man said. He stepped over to one of the tables and in one swift movement, picked it up with one hand and hurled it across the room, making kids scream. “I said, where is Peter Parker!” He yelled.

       Peter hardly registered the hands grabbing him and pulling him back from the cafeteria. He looked up and saw that it was one of the teachers and then noticed more were pulling any child they could reach out of harm’s way. He had to wonder if there was some kind of protocol for this kind of thing. Crazy superhumans attacked New York regularly, did the teachers have meetings about this?

       “I’m guessing you didn’t get the message,” the man continued, stepping over to a group of cowering students. He gripped one by the collar and Peter felt his heart quicken when he saw that it was Flash. “If you don’t bring me Peter Parker right now, someone is going to die!”

       Flash could only cover his face as the man lifted a glowing hand and pointed it right at his face, the sound of his repulsor charging ringing through the cafeteria.

       “Wait!” Peter yelled, struggling out of his teachers’ grasp.

       The man stopped just before shooting and Flash removed the hands from his face to look at Peter with wide eyes.

       Peter walked slowly forward, his heart hammering in his chest. “I’m Peter,” he said.

       The man let Flash fall to the floor before turning toward Peter and walking forward. “You are… shorter than I would’ve expected.”

       Peter swallowed and looked around at the terrified kids. “What,” he cleared his throat to keep his voice from cracking. “What do you want from me?” he asked.

       The man continued his way forward, tantalizingly slowly. “Why don’t you come with me and find out?”

       Peter used his senses to find everyone in the room. The kids behind him had mostly been herded out by the teachers and, if he kept the man’s attention on him, the kids on the far end of the room would be safe.

       “I was always told not to go anywhere with strangers,” Peter said slowly, trying to give himself time to come up with a plan.

       “I’ll put it this way for you,” the man said, threateningly. “You can either come with me freely, or I can force you.”

       “You’ll have to go through me first,” one of Peter’s teachers said, stepping in front of him protectively.

       Peter didn’t know how he was going to get out of this without revealing who he was, but he also knew he didn’t want anyone to die for him, student or otherwise.

       “So be it,” the man said before raising his hand to aim the repulsor at her.

       Without thinking, Peter pushed the teacher aside and took the brunt of the hit. He felt a blinding pain in his side and was sent sprawling with a yell.

       “Peter!” Ned screamed.

       Peter was breathing hard as he lay on the ground, his side screaming in unbearable pain. He tried to push himself up, lifting a shaky hand to cover the wound, but fell with a pained whimper.

       “Well,” the man said, stepping over to where Peter lay and crouching down in front of him. “I can’t say I’m surprised you’d be a self-sacrificing idiot as well, but it’s good to know. Now, let’s try this again.”

       “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

       Peter could have cried at the sound of Tony’s voice if he wasn’t already in tears from the pain.

       “Tony Stark,” the man said, not even making a move to stand. “I’m glad you could make it. I was a little worried you wouldn’t get my invitation.”

       “Back away from the kid,” Tony said, in no mood for games.

       The man stood and turned and Peter was able to see that not only had Tony come, but so had everyone else.

       “Now, come on, Tony. Is that any way to greet an old friend?”

       “I don’t remember ever being friends with a suit of armor,” Tony replied.

       The man laughed, actually laughed like he genuinely thought Tony was hilarious. “I suppose it’s too much to ask that the great Tony Stark remember every person he’s fought.”

       Tony said nothing as he stared at him.

       The man paused. They couldn’t see his face, but they were sure he was smiling. “Maybe next time you leave a criminal for dead, wait to make sure he’s _ actually _ dead before you do.”

       “I honestly have not idea who you are, but I’m guessing there wasn’t exactly room for doubt,” Tony said. “But I won’t make the same mistake this time.”

       Quicker than the blink of an eye, the suit of armor turned and gripped Peter’s arm, making him scream in pain as he pulled him to his feet.

       “You motherf-”

       “Ah, ah,” the man said, pulling Peter in front of him and wrapping an iron-clad hand around his throat. “You know I’ll kill him before you can kill me, so don’t make any sudden moves.”

       Tony had his mask on, but Peter could practically feel the terror on his face as he looked at Peter’s tear-stained one.

       “Now,” the man said. “I assume you have various ways of tracking him, so let’s make sure that doesn’t become an issue.” He squeezed Peter’s throat a little tighter, making him whimper slightly. “Do me a favor, Peter, and reach into your pocket slowly and give me your phone.”

       There was complete silence as Peter did what he said, trying to ignore his bleeding side. He held the phone out in his hand and the man grabbed it, making Peter flinch as he crushed it into dust.

       “And what is this?” The man asked, gripping Peter’s wrist and looking down at the cuff. “Take it off.”

       Peter hesitated, looking from the cuff to Tony and back.

       The iron hand gripped Peter’s wrist tight. “I can crush it now along with your bones if you want,” he said through gritted teeth.

       Peter lifted the cuff to his shaking hand. He looked up at Tony, determination all over his face, hoping Tony would forgive him.

       “Peter,” Tony said suddenly, stopping him. His face plate lifted and he stared at Peter. “You don’t have to do this.”

       “Didn’t peg you as someone in favor of bone-crushing, Tony,” the suit said.

       But his words fell on deaf ears as Peter stared right back at Tony, his eyes wide as he made his decision.

       “It’d get out eventually,” Peter said, determinedly pressing his thumb down on the pad and using all his strength to push himself out of the man’s grasp and then turning to face him.

       Shocked gasps rippled through the entire cafeteria as the spider suit covered Peter completely, his glare disappearing behind the mask.

       “I should’ve told you,” Tony said smugly, letting his face plate fall back into place. “My kid is awesome.”

       Peter shot two webs to each of the suit’s shoulders and used the momentum to propel himself forward, placing a well-aimed kick to his face and sending him staggering backward.

       With very little warning, the man once again shot at Peter, missing him by inches and hitting the wall right above Flash’s head.

       “We can’t have a battle in the middle of a high school cafeteria,” Tony’s voice said through the comms. “We have to draw him out.”

       “He’s after me,” Peter said. “If I leave, he comes with me.”

       “We’re not letting you sacrifice yourself,” Bucky replied.

       “With all The Avengers having my back, I think I’ll be okay,” Peter replied, shooting a web at the ceiling and propelling himself up to stick to it. “Hey, ugly!” He yelled, getting the man’s attention. “You want me? Come and get me!”

       Narrowly avoiding another shot from a repulsor, Peter swung out of the gaping hole in the wall, the rest of his team and his assailant following after him.

       Somewhere open, that’s what Peter needed. The least amount of civilians present, the better. He had to wonder why The Avengers base was in New York at all, considering the amount of buildings crushed and people killed or severely injured annually, but he could worry about that later.

       “Peter!”

       The warning came too late and Peter found his web being cut in half by another repulsor beam. The ground was coming up too fast and he barely managed to shoot another web to slow himself down enough before he was hitting the ground, the wound in his side making a comeback.

       Tony landed heavily beside him. “Are you okay?” He asked, holding his hand out to help him up.

       “Tony!” Peter said, pushing Tony out of the way of another beam.

       Before Tony had a chance to retaliate, Thor was sending a flash of lighting over their opponent’s suit and they both realized too late that the last time Thor did that to an Iron Man suit, all it did was power it up.

       The man staggered back slightly, but recovered just in time to send another, more powerful, repulsor beam at them. They dodged the beam and it hit a building behind them, creating a gaping hole revealing an office and a group of terrified people.

       “It’s all of us against him, guys,” Tony said, pulling himself to his feet. “He can’t possibly fight all of us.”

       “I like those odds,” Sam said as he flew into the fray.

       The man had evidently been planning this for a long time because every kick, bullet, repulsor beam, or strike of lightning bounced off his suit and it became clear he’d spent time perfecting it. It was true that he was unable to shoot all of them at once, but this game of chicken was getting them nowhere.

       The man in the suit growled. “I guess I’ll have to bring in the big guns, Stark,” he said.

       “Those weren’t the big guns?” Clint said, slightly out of breath.

       “Fuck…” Bucky and Steve said at the same time as they all saw what the “big guns” were.

       Tony had no idea how this guy had gotten his hands on the army of Iron Men that almost killed everyone at the Stark Expo, wasn’t sure if they were the same suits or if he’d just stolen the tech, but he was starting to get a touch frustrated with the obvious copyright infringement.

       “What is it you want with Peter anyway?” Tony said as the Iron Men neared.

       “Come on, Tony, you know a good villain never reveals his plan,” the man said before activating his thrusters and joining his army in the sky.

       The fight was back on, but this time it was clear who had the disadvantage. The Iron Men were made of the same material as this guy’s suit and the Avengers’ weapons did little damage. Thor and Loki were fighting at least five each, and everyone else was just trying to hold their own. Hulk was the only one able to do even the slightest bit of damage.

       Tony was slammed to the ground and used his repulsor to blast the Iron Man away from him. He looked up to find Peter standing over him, a concerned face almost definitely underneath the mask.

       “I’m okay,” Tony reassured.

       “We’re getting our asses handed to us,” Peter said, out of breath.

       “How much longer do you think you can hold out?” Tony asked.

       Peter put a hand to the wound hiding under his suit, trying to remain stoic about it but unable to keep the fear and pain from reaching Tony through the bond. “I won’t if we can’t stop him,” he said softly.

       “We have to deactivate his suit,” Tony grunted, letting Peter pull him to his feet. “I can almost guarantee the suits will deactivate with it.”

       “How do we get close enough to do that?” Peter asked.

       “Follow my lead,” Tony replied. “Guys, Peter and I need a path. I think I can stop all of this if I can deactivate his suit.”

       Almost immediately, Hulk landed in front of them, clearing a path the only way he knew how. Peter and Tony followed in his wake, fighting off any suits that avoided the path of destruction.

       “You may be a match for mindless drones, Hulk, but don’t think you can defeat me,” the man said when they neared him. To prove his point, he sent a blast that, surprisingly, flung Hulk out of the way.

       Peter and Tony were left facing their assailant without a barrier and they could almost see his grin through the mask.

       “I’m going to kill your soulmate in front of you, Stark,” the man growled. “And then I’m taking you down.”

       There was a pause as Peter and Tony took in the fact that this guy  _ knew _ .

       Tony shook off the shock and took a fighting stance. “Let’s dance, twinkle toes.”

       Peter and Tony had been practicing their fighting skills together. Steve and Bucky had offered to help them with it, pointing out that fighting alongside your soulmate made you smarter, stronger, and more likely to defeat your opponent. The only Avengers they weren’t able to beat now were Steve and Bucky, but they’d had years of fighting together whereas Peter and Tony had mere weeks.

       Those few weeks, however, were enough to keep their opponent from killing either of them, but it was clear they needed a better plan than hand to hand combat.

       The two of them jumped away from each other to avoid another repulsor blast and Peter huffed in frustration. “If he wanted to kill us, why doesn’t he go with another sonic blast. If it was enough to floor Hulk, it’d probably kill us instantly.”

       “Don’t give the bad guy ideas,” Tony said, shooting his own repulsor and then rolling out of the way of another.

       “No, I mean,” Peter paused to avoid a blast. “I mean why not use your ultimate power if you have one?”

       “He’d probably need another lightning strike from Thor,” Tony replied. “Wait. That gives me an idea.” Shooting another repulsor, Tony ducked behind a car. “Thor!” He said, getting the God of Thunder’s attention. “I need you to hit me with lightning!”

       Thor didn’t even question Tony’s motivations before he was hurtling a lightning bolt right at Tony’s chest. 

       Tony’s suit glowed bright and he came out from behind the car and charged his repulsors. The man saw what was about to happen before it did and, at the same time as Tony, fired his own repulsor.

       The blast was blinding as the repulsor beams met in the middle and all three of them, plus anyone in the immediate vicinity, felt their feet leave the ground as they were blasted backward.

       Peter was thrown against a car with a pained yell. Belatedly, he noticed that he could feel the heat of the fire around him and looked down to find one of his cuffs had been completely destroyed and his suit was half retracted, leaving his side exposed. He retracted the rest of it, wincing as it sounded like it was having a difficult time, and pulled himself to his feet.

       He looked around and saw people still running around, Avengers still fighting the suits, and Tony lying motionless on the ground with their opponent hovering menacingly over him, a repulsor aimed at his head.

       “I would’ve liked you to have been awake for this, Stark,” the guy said. “But this needs to end now.”

       Without taking a second to think about how stupid the idea was to run at a villain without a suit, Peter sprinted toward the both of them and used as much of his strength as he could to catch the giant suit of armor off guard and shove him backward and away from Tony.

       Peter knelt down next to Tony with a worried expression, upset that he couldn’t ask Karen if he was okay.

       The guy laughed as he walked toward Peter slowly. “You have spunk, Peter,” he said. “It’s too bad you have to die.”

       Peter glared at him and then looked back at Tony, the wheels in his head turning as he ran out of things to do. He was going to die here with Tony. Everyone else was being beaten down by an army of Iron Men and he was powerless to save his soulmate. If he still had his suit, he could at least go down fighting. He needed a suit…

       Peter looked down at Tony’s completely intact suit. If Tony had the power to activate and deactivate Peter’s suit, then maybe Peter could do the same?

       With a shaky hand, Peter reached out and tapped the arc reactor, the same way he’d seen Tony do it a million times, and he felt his heart quicken as the suit retracted and revealed a deep cut on the side of Tony’s head, blood trickling down the side of his face.

       Their assailant figured out Peter’s plan and shot a blast that Peter barely avoided, pulling Tony’s limp body with him. As quick as he could, he pulled the arc reactor off Tony’s chest and to his own, tapping it again and avoiding another blast as Tony’s suit covered him completely.

       This wasn’t Peter’s suit, but if Tony had made it, he was sure there had to be some similarities. He didn’t have his webs or a mask to damped sights and sounds, but he was no longer exposed. Now he just needed to… fight like Iron Man.

       Peter activated the thrusters just as the man shot another blast at him and felt his breath leave him as he flew. It was… terrifying and exhilarating at the same time. Tony did this every damn day?

       “Might want to learn to use that suit quick, Peter,” the guy taunted.

       Peter shot a repulsor beam at him. “What’s to learn?” He asked. “Seems pretty straightforward to me.”

       The suit of armor laughed as if this were the best possible outcome and flew at Peter, slamming into him and sending him sprawling to the ground. “Seems like there’s a bit of a learning curve,” he said triumphantly.

       Peter glared and shot another repulsor beam at him before activating his thrusters again and shooting into the sky to hover above him.

       “I’ve always loved a moving target,” the man said as he shot repulsor beam after repulsor beam at him.

       Peter dodged every one, weaving through the buildings as the suit gave chase. He needed a plan. Playing dodgeball was getting him nowhere and, in order to avoid more destruction, he needed to end this.

       He looked behind him as the man pursued him and saw the arc reactor on his chest plate flicker. His heart picked up the pace as the plan came to him. He was getting a single shot at this.

       “Thor!” Peter said through the comms.

       “Peter?” Thor asked.

       “Peter, are you in the Iron Man suit?” Steve asked.

       Peter saw the two of them and Bucky on the ground watching him play tag with their opponent.

       “Thor, I need you to hit him with another lightning bolt,” Peter said.

       “That only makes him more powerful,” Steve protested.

       “We need to overload the suit,” Peter pressed. “If you hit him at the same time I do, I think we can destroy it.”

       Steve and Thor exchanged a look.

       “Do it,” Steve made the decision and Thor nodded.

       “Be ready, Man of Spiders!” Thor said in his booming voice before raising a hand to the sky and drawing electricity from it.

       Peter stopped abruptly and aimed his repulsor at the suit racing toward him.

       “Now!” Peter yelled.

       The blast took out every window on the block and Peter felt himself being thrown backward. He landed on the ground painfully and blinked a few times to try and get his eyesight back. There was ringing in his ears and he could almost definitely diagnose himself with a concussion.

       When the dust cleared, they could all clearly see a crater in the middle of the road, their assailant in the center of it with only a few pieces of his suit still attached. He had dust in his dark brown hair and the mask had fallen of, and still, no one recognized his face. All around them, the suits began to deactivate, some falling from the sky in heaps.

       With a deep breath, Peter pulled himself to his feet, looking around at the destruction and then back to the man at the center of it all. Peter felt his blood boil as he looked at the guy and charged his repulsor, walking swiftly toward the dazed villain and aiming his hand at his face.

       The guy looked at him with a dangerous smile. “Go ahead, Peter,” he said softly. “Do what the rest of your teammates are too afraid to do.”

       Peter grit his teeth and was seconds away from letting the repulsor fire, when a voice stopped him.

       “Peter!” Tony yelled, grunting as he pulled himself up to a sitting position and shaking his head of the dizziness. “Stop.”

       Peter didn’t lower his hand even a centimeter. “He tried to kill you,” he said, his voice a low growl. He didn’t sound like the Peter they all knew and loved.

       “I know,” Tony grunted as he pulled himself to his knees. “But you aren’t a killer.”

       Peter was breathing hard, staring into the hateful eyes of the man who’d almost succeeded in killing yet another father of Peter’s.

       “Come on, Peter,” Tony said softly, not trusting himself to stand. “You’re better than this.”

       Peter still didn’t move.

       “Pete,” Tony said.

       Peter blinked and dropped his hand, the repulsor dimming. He turned to Tony and knelt to help him up, ignoring the tears welled up in his eyes.

       There was laughter behind them as Tony was finally able to stand on shaky legs.

       “I knew your kid would be just as spineless as you were,” the guy said, a wheeze in his voice. “Always too spineless to do the job right. You two could never bring yourself to actually kill someone.”

       “No,” Loki’s voice startled all of them as he appeared right behind him and plunged his staff into his back, the tip protruding through his chest. “But I can,” he whispered in his ear just as he let the villain drop to the floor.

       Peter and Tony watched as the man fell and both looked back up at Loki who didn’t look even a little remorseful.

       “I told you,” Loki said to Tony. “If anyone hurts Peter, I will not hesitate to exact revenge.”

       The Iron Man faceplate lifted to show Peter’s shocked face. “You killed him,” he said.

       Loki tilted his head to the side. “I have already killed before,” he said. “I don’t think any of us wished you to darken your soul to do what needed to be done. So I did it for you.”

       There was silence as everyone tried to decide whether Loki’s actions were just or not.

       Deciding to worry about it later, Tony reached over to the arc reactor on Peter’s chest and retracted the suit before putting his hands on Peter’s shoulders to look him in the eyes. “Are you okay?” He asked urgently.

       Peter nodded. “I think so,” he breathed. “Are you?”

       Without answering, Tony pulled Peter into a tight hug. “You were wearing my suit,” he murmured.

       Peter smiled. “Yeah, I think we’ll have to do a little maintenance on mine.”

       “I think it’s a good thing I programmed your fingerprints into the arc reactor,” Tony said, still holding Peter tight.

       Peter laughed.

       “I’m sorry,” Tony whispered.

       Peter pulled away to look him in the eyes. “For what?” He asked.

       Tony hesitated. “I keep… screwing up your life,” he said, his expression pained. “First with making you front page news for a week and then my past caught up to me and put you in danger, and now your secret’s out. This is all my fault.”

       Peter gave Tony a half smile. “I know you can’t help but blame yourself,” he said. “But honestly, Tony, none of that really matters. I really don’t care what you do, you’re still my soulmate and I love you, not matter how many villains try to kill me.”

       Tony looked like he wanted to protest, but Peter cut him off.

       “We need to get to the med bay,” he said, putting a hand to his side. “I think I may have lost a lot of blood.”

       As if on cue, Peter’s legs buckled beneath him and he fell, Tony catching him.

       “Let’s go, big guy,” Tony said, pulling Peter back to his feet and wrapping his arm around his shoulders.

       “I’m glad you’re okay, Tony,” Peter mumbled.

       Tony smiled slightly as he hugged Peter closer. “Let’s go home,” he whispered.


	5. Epilogue

       “You’re sure you want to go?” Tony asked as Peter slung his backpack over his shoulder.

       “How many times are you going to ask me that?” Peter said.

       “You’re still recovering from an attempt on your life, you know,” Tony said, leading the way to the garage.

       “I was fully healed less than twenty-four hours later, and we both know it,” Peter replied. “Besides, I need to make sure everyone’s okay and the school isn’t completely destroyed.”

       “Ned didn’t provide enough information?” Tony asked, then sighed. “I just… I don’t know how I feel about all those kids knowing who you are.”

       Peter shrugged. “It’s been two weeks,” he said. “I haven’t even seen a single article about it and no supervillains have come after me or May. Either they’re all in denial or no one believes them.”

       It had been two weeks since the incident. Tony revealed that he still had no idea who the guy was, even after they showed him the file and video footage of Tony taking the guy down six years ago. Loki killing him had been considered self-defense. The claim was a weak one, but it was entirely possible no one wanted to lock Loki up a second time only to have him escape again and this time not be on their side. The school had been closed for repairs, repairs that Tony Stark himself had paid for, and was only just opening again. They’d all been waiting for the inevitable article proving Peter was Spider-Man, but it never came. And that was why Peter decided he wanted to go back to school.

       When they reached the garage, the rest of the team was standing by the car waiting for them.

       “You’re sure you don’t want your security detail?” Clint asked.

       Peter smiled. “Thanks, but no thanks,” he said. “I don’t want everyone to have a heart attack because of me. Besides, I think they know I can take care of myself now.”

       “We’ll be here if you need us. Just a call or text away,” Bucky said.

       Peter smiled. “Thanks,” he said. “But I’m still coming home at three.”

       Tony opened the car door. “Give it up, Pete,” he said. “Your Golden Retrievers will sit and wait by the door diligently until you return. To them, you’re leaving for a week.”

       “He’s gonna be in school for hours, who knows what could happen to him?” Bucky defended.

       “You are not helping your case,” Tony said as he slid into the car next to Peter. “Let’s go, Pete, before someone starts crying.”

       Bucky flipped him off and Steve hastily grabbed his wrist and pulled his hand down.

       Peter laughed as they drove away.

       “He is right, though,” Tony said once they were on the road. “You can call any of us if you need something. Even if you forgot your homework or lunch money.”

       Peter smiled. “It’s handy having an ungodly amount of aunts and uncles.”

       Tony reached over and messed Peter’s hair up, making him squeak in protest.

       When they rounded the corner, they were both thoroughly surprised to not see a single reporter waiting for them. No flashing lights or noise to send Peter into sensory overload. For all intents and purposes, it looked like a regular day of school awaited him. Tony parked the car and the two of them exchanged confused looks before Peter got out of the car.

       “Are you sure you don’t want me to go in with you?” Tony asked.

       “Honestly?” Peter shrugged. “I think I’ll be fine.”

       “Okay,” Tony said. “I’ll be back to pick you up at three.”

       Peter nodded before making his way up the school steps, very aware of people watching him out of the corners of their eyes. He wasn’t sure if they were suspicious of him or just trying not to bring attention to the giant elephant in the room.

       With a glance at the students around him, Peter opened the door and stepped into… a normal school. There was a sudden hush when he entered and he felt extremely self conscious as everyone looked at him.

       Taking a deep breath, Peter turned his attention to Flash who was standing in the middle of the room with his arms crossed and a smug look on his face.

       “We put it to a vote,” Flash said. “And we decided, no one needs to know exactly what happened but us.”

       Peter still didn’t know what to say as Flash walked toward him.

       “But,” Flash stepped right up to him. “We did want to say thanks.”

       Peter looked down at Flash’s hand held out for a handshake and then back up at his expectant face. Without a word, Peter gripped his hand and gave him a half smile.

       Flash smiled brightly and pulled Peter into a side hug. “I do have a question, though,” he said. “That was you that stole my dad’s car at Homecoming, wasn’t it?”

       Peter tried to hide his smile. “It rings a bell,” he said softly.

       Flash ruffled his hair awkwardly as Peter did have a few inches on him and pulled away just as Peter felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He pulled it out and smiled at the text from Tony.

 

_  Everything OK? _

 

       Peter looked up at the smiling faces.

 

**Actually, everything’s great.**

 

       “So, here’s a question, Parker,” Flash said. “Do you have your suit on you at all times?”

       Peter looked around at his classmates and smiled, lifting up his sleeve and revealing his brand-new cuffs. Without a word, he pressed his thumb to the plate.


End file.
